Due to two factors, VAR did not overturn Alexis MacAllister’s red card during Liverpool vs. Bournemouth.

In what many felt was an unfair red card against Bournemouth, Alexis Mac Allister was sent on his home Liverpool debut

VAR officials gave two justifications for continuing with the referee’s on-field decision to eject Alexis MacAllister from Liverpool’s game against Bournemouth.

In the 58th minute of the game at Anfield, Mac Allister was given the boot by referee Thomas Bramall for a challenge on Bournemouth player Ryan Christie. After joining for £35 million from Brighton earlier in the summer, the Argentine was making his home debut.

A VAR review was conducted to confirm that this was the right choice, and it was found that Bramall’s use of a red card was not clearly and obviously incorrect. The ECHO is aware that sticking by the referee’s initial ruling was due to Mac Allister’s studs being visible and a high point of contact being made on Christie.

VAR was being managed by Paul Tierney, who has frequently disagreed with Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, and was assisted by Constantine Hatzidakis, who had a run-in with Andy Robertson last season.

At the time of the dismissal, Liverpool was up 2-1, with goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah canceling out the visitors’ Antoine Semenyo’s first-half score. When Mac Allister departed the field, Waturu Endo, a recent addition, was quickly brought from the bench to make his Liverpool debut in place of Cody Gakpo.